Forex research

[Alpari UK]

US Opening Call from Alpari UK on 17 January 2014

US futures higher ahead of key economic releases

Today’s US opening call provides an update on:

* Investors more optimistic after a run of positive economic releases this week;
* Good start to the European session as UK retail sales smash expectations;
* US consumer confidence release key today;
* Morgan Stanley the latest bank to report fourth quarter earnings.

US futures are pointing to a higher open on Friday, as investors become more optimistic again following the release of some encouraging economic data this week.

The mood had turned a little more sour since the turn of the year, as we repeatedly saw data falling short of expectations, leading some to believe that the economic recovery may not be as strong as initially thought. Last Friday’s jobs report did little to improve sentiment among investors, showing a significant drop in job creating in December, although this was largely put down to poor weather.

The economic data has been much better this week, in particular the December retail sales figure and two pieces of manufacturing data, all of which easily exceeded expectations. That has given investors more confidence in the recovery, which has been reflected in the stock market rally this week, with the S&P hitting new record highs in the process.

Things have got off to an encouraging start in Europe this morning, where indices are currently trading half a percentage point higher. It has been a particularly positive start for the UK, where retail sales in December rose by 2.6% from a month earlier and 5.3% compared to the same month last year.

This is a huge jump and was well above expectations of 0.4% and 2.6%, respectively. The core retail sales figures were even better, rising 2.8% from November, and 6.1% from last year. Clearly the recovery in the UK is showing no signs of losing momentum and if anything is going from strength to strength. If we thought 2013 was a good year for the UK, 2014 could be unbelievable if these figures are anything to go by.

The US session could be a little quieter than we’ve seen so far this week. There are a couple of notable economic releases scheduled for today, the most notable of which is the UoM consumer sentiment figure. This is also a preliminary reading so tends to have the greatest impact on the markets.

The figure is expected to rise to 83.5 today, up from 82.5 in December, further evidence that the consumer is becoming more confidence in the economic recovery. For a country like the US, as with the UK, this is hugely important. If the consumer buys into the recovery, so will businesses and barring something disastrous, the recovery will rapidly gather momentum.

Corporate earnings season will also be in focus again today, with financial stocks once again being of interest. Today it’s Morgan Stanley’s turn to report fourth quarter earnings, after a week that has seen JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo and Citigroup, among others, already report. The results have so far been relatively good, so the pressure is now on Morgan Stanley to keep the run going.

Ahead of the open we expect to see the S&P up 2 points, Dow up 14 points and the NASDAQ up 2 points.

 

[Alpari UK]

Daily Market Update - 17 January 2014 - Alpari UK

Investors more optimistic after positive data week - 0:09
Sterling rallies after very strong December retail sales - 01:29
US data in focus as the week draws to a close - 04:22

Market Analyst Craig Erlam talks about why investors are looking more optimistic this week, the surprisingly strong UK data this morning and what to keep an eye on for the rest of the day.

 

[Alpari UK]

UK Opening Call from Alpari UK on 20 January 2014

European futures lower after mixed Chinese data

Today’s UK opening call provides an update on:

• Quiet start to the week expected as US markets close for Martin Luther King Day;
• Markets lacking catalysts with European data and earnings releases also few and far between;
• Mixed Chinese data leaves Asian markets lower despite initial rally.

European indices are expected to open slightly lower on Monday, ahead of what is expected to be a relatively quiet day, with US markets closed in observance of Martin Luther King Day.

Not only will this mean lower trading volumes as traders take an extended weekend, it also means there will be fewer catalysts as there will be no economic releases or corporate earnings from the US today. The European session is also looking very quiet on both of those fronts, with German PPI inflation data the only notable release and even this is likely to have minimal impact on the markets.

Corporate earnings season will be a key focus again this week, with the number of companies reporting picking up significantly. That said, like in the US, earnings in Europe this morning are few and far between. In fact, the only notable earnings release this morning comes from Peugeot.

The rest of the week should be much more interesting, with plenty of companies reporting fourth quarter earnings and many more pieces of European data being released than last week. This includes the first revisions to the manufacturing and services PMIs for January and economic sentiment surveys for Germany and the eurozone. We’ll also get the Bank of England minutes from this month’s meeting, as well as the latest batch of unemployment figures.

Chinese data, released over night, was relatively mixed which explains the mild reaction in the markets. The initial response to the data releases was positive, but these gains were quickly pared and stocks ended roughly at pre-release levels. Looking at the data, this is hardly surprising, with growth figures falling short of third quarter levels but exceeding expectations, fixed asset investment falling short on both accounts and retail sales coming in line with expectations.

With such a large amount of data being released, I guess the real question investors have to ask themselves is which do they consider most important. The obvious answer would be the GDP figure as it gives an overview of how the economy has performed in the last quarter and the year as a whole. However, this can be misleading as it doesn’t highlight where the growth is coming from and whether it is sustainable.

The FIA number has been of key interest for many years, especially since 2008 when the government underwent a huge stimulus plan in order to counter the negative impact of the global recession. But with them now looking at a more targeted stimulus plan and wanting to move to a growth model driven by the consumer, maybe it’s time to put less emphasis on this and more on the retail sales figure.

This is what’s going to fuel the most sustainable growth in China in the years to come and should therefore be viewed with increased importance. Too many one-off factors can influence the GDP figure, that’s if people still view it as a reliable reading in the first place. And with so much FIA being funded by government debt, maybe it’s a good thing that this number is slowly declining to more normal levels. We obviously want businesses to invest, but government spending money it doesn’t have on unnecessary roads and buildings in order to maintain higher growth rates isn’t what many would call real growth.

Ahead of the open we expect to see the FTSE down 1 point, the CAC down 7 points and the DAX down 27 points.

 

[Alpari UK]

Daily Market Update - 20 January 2014 - Alpari UK

Chief Market Analyst James Hughes looks at the trading week as US markets are closed on Monday for Martin Luther King day. He also discusses the UK unemployment data and US earnings.

 

[Alpari UK]

Weekly market preview – 20 January 2014

A mixed week ahead, where much of the focus is likely to be upon European releases. The US economy’s 4 day week signifies the tone for the week where the only event of notes come on Thursday, when the unemployment claims figure is released. In the UK, a slow week is largely dominated by BoE votes, along with the unemployment data which are all released on Wednesday. Meanwhile, in Europe a raft of PMI releases dominate proceedings while we await a potential resolution to the German court hearing with regards to the OMT policy.

In Asia, the BoJ announcements due on Wednesday will be keenly watched, whilst the Chinese HSBC manufacturing PMI will dominate proceedings on Thursday.


US

A particularly quiet this week, where the existence of Monday Martin Luther King signals a four day week. The only real events of note come on Thursday, when the unemployment claims and existing home sales figures are released.

Of those two, the main figure to keep an eye out for is the weekly unemployment claims number, which is expected to rise to 331k following a figure of 326k last week. The obvious reason to watch out for this figure is owing to the association between the jobs market and potential tapering from the FOMC next week. Given that the jobs report seen earlier this month were so poor, many will have discounted a January taper immediately. However, given that much of this effect was a consequence of the adverse weather seen across the US earlier this month. Thus the shorter time-frame outlook of this measure will be invaluable for the Fed to gauge what the true conditions are for employment. I would expect to see a better than expected figure provide a boost of the USD and weaken equities, with the reverse being expected should the figure rise higher than market expectations.

UK

A mixed week for the UK, where the majority of the week sees the focus upon the World Economic Forum in Davos. However, on Wednesday, the release of the latest BoE votes from the last MPC meeting is coupled with jobs data to provide a day of note to look out for. All these releases occur at 9.30am GMT, bringing about expectations of a particularly volatile start to the trading day.

The BoE announcement on Wednesday will likely to geared predominantly towards the MPC minutes rather than the actual announcement of MPC votes given that we have not seen a change for some time now. A vote for a change in either the interest rate or asset purchase facility seems highly unlikely under the framework of supposed ‘stability’ as provided by the forward guidance policy. Thus look to the minutes for an indication of whether the members are foreseeing any changes in stance given the faster than expected unemployment rate in recent months.

It is that unemployment rate which is also released at the same time as the minutes on Wednesday, with the headline rate once again expected to fall. The 7.0% threshold for consideration of a rate rise from the BoE is fast approaching and thus the faster this measure falls, the less accommodative the BoE is perceived to be in their mindset. Currently the rate is at 7.4%, however should we see a fall to 7.3% it would mean we have seen 0.5% shaved off the rate in just five months.

Eurozone

A busy week in the Eurozone, where the release of a raft of PMI figures is going to be key, whilst there is the potential for the much anticipated German constitutional hearing with respect to the eurozone OMT programme.

The release of PMI figures for the eurozone is always somewhat of an event, owing to the fact that this provides a key clue to how industry specific sectors are faring for some of the major economies in focus. On this occasion, the figures are all ‘flash’ releases which means they are the first estimate. On the whole this means we are likely to see more volatility than with revisions later in the month. The key figures to watch out for are typically the German and French manufacturing sectors, along with eurozone composite. On the manufacturing front, there could be additional focus upon France this month. This follows the contrasting fortunes of the majority of eurozone readings, which appear to be largely in expansion and improving and the French story which is one of accelerating contraction. Market expectations point towards the figure remaining at 47.0, however hopefully thee will some form of improvement.

On Tuesday, watch out for the potential announcement from the German constitutional court with regards to their ruling in relation to the OMT programme. This has been postponed on a number of occasions and thus I am a little skeptical as to whether we will see it this week. However, be aware that should we hear that they do not see the OMT programme as constitutional, it could cause significant shockwaves in the markets.

Asia & Oceania

The major focus this week out of Asia is likely to be the Japanese monetary policy statement on Wednesday, when the BoJ decide whether to amend the current asset purchase and interest rates in place. The imposition of a sales tax increase later in the year, coupled with doubts over whether the 2% inflation rate can be achieved as promised are two reasons why we could see a looser policy from the BoJ. However, I do not expect to see that change this month and thus it is the accompanying statement which could provide clues as to whether the BoJ are leaning that way.

Later on Thursday, the HSBC flash manufacturing PMI figure from China is released, where market expectations point towards a marginal rise to 50.6 from 50.5. The validity of some of the official figures has been called into question throughout 2013 and thus such HSBC figures are really key in understanding whether the economy is really growing as expected. The economy has been showing weaknesses following poor industrial production and fixed asset investment figures on Monday. And thus we will be looking for a strong figure to prop up the outlook for the time being.

 

[Alpari UK]

UK Opening Call from Alpari UK on 21 January 2014

European futures higher ahead of economic sentiment data

Today’s UK opening call provides an update on:

• Trading volumes to pick up today as US traders return following the bank holiday weekend;
• Eurozone economic sentiment expected to improve again in January;
• German Constitutional Court ruling expected to be delayed again;
• Focus on corporate earnings during the US session later.

It could be another relatively quiet day of trading on Tuesday, although things should pick up significantly from yesterday as US markets reopen following yesterday’s bank holiday and the economic and earnings calendars provide the markets with a few more potential catalysts, something that was severely lacking yesterday.

A couple of these this morning will be the ZEW economic sentiment surveys for Germany and the eurozone. Both have significantly improved over the last year and a half, pretty much ever since ECB President Mario Draghi pledged to do whatever it takes to preserve the euro in the summer of 2012. Since then, bond yields have fallen dramatically in peripheral countries, Ireland and Spain have exited their bailout programs, and the eurozone, like many of its member states has exited recession.

This was a huge turning point in the eurozone crisis so it’s no surprise that economic sentiment has been on the rise ever since. This is expected to continue today with the German and eurozone figures rising again in January to 64 and 70.2, respectively. This is another positive sign that the recovery, albeit a mild one, will continue into 2014. As long as the region can avoid falling back into recession, or even worse another crisis, sentiment should continue to improve this year.

Also today, we could get the German Constitutional Court ruling on the Outright Monetary Transactions program. This is the program announced by Draghi in the summer of 2012 which would act as the backstop for the eurozone going forward. If the Constitutional Court decides the OMT’s are illegal, this could have a significant impact on the markets, particularly the bond yields of the countries that are not yet out of the woods, such as Greece or Portugal. That said, the vote has been delayed on numerous occasions and if this was to happen today, I would imagine there would be a lot more hype around it. Therefore, I’m expecting to hear very little about this today.

European corporate earnings season continues today, with a number of big names reporting fourth quarter results. With the economic calendar continuing to look quite thin this week, we could see more emphasis on these results Especially as a number of central banks lean towards wrapping up stimulus programs, thereby putting more pressure on economies to stand on their own two feet.

The US session later should be similarly quiet, with even less data being released than in the European session this morning. This week as a whole is actually looking very quiet on the economic data front for the US, with no significant releases scheduled until Thursday. It does make up for this though with corporate earnings which are expected to pick up significantly this week.

Ahead of the open we expect to see the FTSE up 23 point, the CAC up 10 points and the DAX up 35 points.

 

[Alpari UK]

US Opening Call from Alpari UK on 21 January 2014

US futures higher following long bank holiday weekend

Today’s US opening call provides an update on:

* US futures point to a higher open following long bank holiday weekend;
* Markets still lacking catalysts from the economic calendar;
* Earnings season picks up this week;
* PBOC cash injection boosts equity markets.


Trading volumes should pick up significantly on Tuesday as US markets reopen following the long bank holiday weekend.

The market were seriously lacking any catalysts on Monday, with Europe offering little in terms of economic or earnings releases. US markets were closed due to the bank holiday which meant we had no economic releases or fourth quarter earnings reports, which contributed largely to the very low trading volumes.

While volumes will pick up dramatically on Tuesday, they may still be lower than normal as there’s still a lack of data being released. In fact, we have no significant economic releases from the US until Thursday, leaving traders with only earnings to focus on.

That said, there are a lot more companies reporting this week so there’s going to be no lack of catalysts, particularly for the equity markets. Today these include IBM, Johnson & Johnson and Verizon Communications, with the results from the latter giving us some insight into iPhone sales in the fourth quarter.

Apple is currently the largest company in the S&P 500 so people are always looking to gain insight into their quarterly performance before the results are released. These Verizon reports give us that opportunity.

It’s been a positive day so far in the financial markets, largely driven by the additional liquidity that was pumped into the money markets over night by the People’s Bank of China. The move was simply done to offset the larger demand for cash over the course of the Chinese New Year, so it’s not something to get carried away with.

The central bank is still going to maintain its policy of tighter monetary policy this year. This is in no way an indication that they are planning to loosen monetary policy in order to help maintain the current high levels of growth. Their primary objective is still to shrink the shadow banking system that has become a major concern in China. With that in mind, the boost to the markets is likely to be temporary.

Ahead of the open we expect to see the S&P up 7 points, Dow up 64 points and the NASDAQ up 18 points.

 

[Alpari UK]

Daily Market Update - 21 January 2014 - Alpari UK

Chief Market Analyst James Hughes looks at the major announcements for today and this week as German ZEW survey disappoints, US markets return from the long weekend and the UK looks towards tomorrows unemployment.

 

[Alpari UK]

UK Opening Call from Alpari UK on 22 January 2014

BoE minutes and UK unemployment in focus this morning

Today’s UK opening call provides an update on:

• BoE minutes, UK unemployment and earnings data in focus this morning;
• Forward guidance key for investors as unemployment approaches 7% threshold;
• Unemployment expected to hit 7% in November;
• Wage growth expected to pick up slightly as people’s incomes become less squeezed.

The focus will be on the UK this morning, as the Bank of England releases the minutes from its meeting earlier this month and a number of pieces of economic data are released. With all of this happening at 9.30am GMT, we’re likely to see a significant surge in volatility in all UK markets including the pound sterling, UK bond yields and, to a lesser extent, the FTSE.

Of all of these, the minutes have the potential to have the biggest impact on the markets, although I’m not convinced they will today. With the unemployment rate fast approaching 7%, the threshold that Governor Mark Carney previously claimed was the point at which an interest rate hike would first be considered, the central bank is going to have to do something to reassure households, businesses and the markets that an increase in rates will not happen in the coming months.

Recently the Fed opted to change to language slightly on its statement to reassure people that rates would not be hiked until the unemployment rate is “well below” 6.5%. This is the very least that Carney and the BoE will have to do in order for people to buy into its policy of forward guidance, something few have done so far. I imagine even this won’t be enough though and the BoE will eventually be forced to lower its threshold to 6.5%, in line with the Fed.

As I said earlier though, I don’t expect any of this in the minutes from this month’s meeting. This would more likely come in a statement alongside the rate decision, or during a press conference with Carney himself. What the minutes might tell us is whether this is currently being discussed and, if so, what kind of backing it has.

With this in mind, the unemployment rate, which is due to be released at the same time, will be followed very closely. It has already fallen at a much faster rate than the BoE expected when it announced its forward guidance last year and we’re expecting another small drop today, to 7.3%. This is very close to the 7% threshold, all the more reason why a change in the BoEs forward guidance may be necessary in the next couple of months.

Among the rest of the data being released, we have the change in jobless claims, which is expected to be -35,000 and the average earnings data. The latter is very important for the UK economy going forward. With inflation now at 2%, people’s real incomes are being squeezed significantly less than they have in recent years. However, people are still worse off every year as their incomes rise slower than inflation.

The next step, if the recovery is going to be sustained, is for wage growth to pick up. So far, the recovery has been built on consumers spending more but the only way this can continue is if wages rise or people get into more debt, which is not the situation we want to find ourselves in again. Average earnings growth for November is expected to rise to 1%, which is a good start, but we’re going to have to see more this year if we want the recovery to be sustainable.

Ahead of the open we expect to see the FTSE up 22 point, the CAC up 15 points and the DAX up 30 points.

 

[Alpari UK]

US Opening Call from Alpari UK on 22 January 2014

Corporate earnings to drive markets on Wednesday

Today’s US opening call provides an update on:

* Corporate earnings the key driver of markets on Wednesday;
* Earnings mixed so far with growth being driven by cost-cutting;
* US economic calendar thin again, should pick up tomorrow;
* Sterling flies as unemployment closes in on 7% threshold.

Corporate earnings are going to be a key driver in the financial markets again on Wednesday, as investors continue to look for evidence that the economic recovery will continue this year.

So far the fourth quarter earnings season has been very similar to the last few, but with one key difference. The period of ultra low interest rates appears to be coming to an end as the Fed winds down its quantitative easing program and passes the baton to US companies to carry on the recovery.

We’re seeing little evidence of this so far, with companies continuing to report higher earnings driven largely by cost-cutting. While it is important for companies to improve productivity at times like these in order to ensure they remain profitable, we also need to see improvements to the top line in order for this earnings growth to be sustainable.

At the same time, we need to see companies investing in order to drive this future earnings growth, which is something we’re not seeing enough of at the moment. This doesn’t exactly fill me with hope, although we do know that companies are sitting on large cash piles so that offers some comfort. Surely it’s only a matter of time until some of that cash is invested in order to generate future earnings growth. Consumer sentiment is improving, along with other aspects of the economy and the economies of other nations. There’s no longer any reason to hold back.

In terms of US economic releases, it’s been a very slow week so far. Of course there was no data released on Monday as the markets closed for Martin Luther King Day, but yesterday and today hasn’t been much better. Things should pick up tomorrow though, with jobless claims, manufacturing and housing data all being released.

So far this morning the focus has been on the UK, where we had the release of the Bank of England minutes and the unemployment data for November. There was no real surprised in the minutes, with the MPC clearly reluctant to change the unemployment threshold linked to its forward guidance.

It did highlight that it doesn’t need to raise interest rates if the threshold is hit soon, but with unemployment falling to 7.1% in November, that isn’t going to reassure anyone. The fact of the matter is, the forward guidance hasn’t worked because the BoE was wildly inaccurate with its unemployment forecasts and has since been very inflexible with the unemployment threshold. At the very least it should take a page out of the Fed’s book and say rates won’t be raised until well after the threshold is hit, especially given that inflation is currently in line with its 2% target.

If this doesn’t happen, sterling will continue to rally strongly against the other currencies, as traders price in an interest rate hike earlier than was previously expected. This could be damaging for UK exports at a time when the manufacturing industry is only just recovering.

Ahead of the open we expect to see the S&P down 1 point, Dow down 30 points and the NASDAQ up 1 point.

 

[Alpari UK]

Daily Market Update - 22 January 2014 - Alpari UK

Markets selloff - 0:09
UK unemployment reaches 7.1% - 00:22
Average earnings disappoints as real wages continue to fall - 02:21
Australian CPI rises to uncomfortable levels and challenges RBA decision-making - 03:11

Research analyst Joshua Mahony discusses the UK unemployment fall which sees BoE forward guidance increasingly come into question. He also discusses the impact that the continued fall in real wages is likely to have upon consumer activity. Finally Joshua talks about the Australian inflation rate rise and what it means for the RBA decision-making going forward.

 

[Alpari UK]

UK Opening Call from Alpari UK on 23 January 2014

Chinese data weighs on sentiment ahead of PMI readings

Today’s UK opening call provides an update on:

• Surprise contraction in Chinese manufacturing weighing on investor sentiment;
• Improvement expected in eurozone PMI data;
• France remains a concern, with the data expected to remain comfortably in contraction territory;
• Spanish unemployment finally stabilising at around 26%.

Chinese data is weighing on investor sentiment this morning, with European index futures trading slightly in the red after Asian indices recorded small losses over night.

The preliminary reading of this month’s HSBC manufacturing PMI posted its first contraction figure since July last year, which has knocked investor sentiment a little. The fact that we’re only seeing small losses suggests investors aren’t overly concerned about this reading. The general consensus appears to be that this should be seen as a potential warning of slowing activity this year in the world’s second largest economy, rather than confirmation of it.

Hopefully we’ll get better numbers out of the eurozone this morning, with manufacturing and services PMI data being released for Germany, France and the eurozone. The numbers coming out of Germany and the eurozone have been very encouraging over the last six months or so and have been very consistent with people’s expectations for the coming year, small amounts of growth in the euro area driven predominantly by accelerating growth in Germany.

The concern once again is France, which has seen its PMI reading deteriorate after showing signs of picking up in the third quarter of last year. Unfortunately, this highlights the problem with these PMI readings as this is the same quarter that the country posted a small contraction in GDP which could lead to it falling back into recession. The recent slide in the numbers looks like more than a bump in the road for the data and suggests it’s going to be another rough year for the euro area’s second largest economy.

The data is expected to show a slight improvement this morning, although the French numbers are expected to remain comfortably in contraction territory, marking a third consecutive month of negative growth in the services sector and a far more concerning 30 months without growth in the manufacturing sector.

Over in Spain things are far worse, although we are seeing signs that the country is turning a corner. Spain recently exited its bank bailout program after borrowing much less than the €100 billion figure that was initially being talked about. It’s also beginning to find its feet again in the debt markets, as seen yesterday by the success of its 10-year bond auction which saw yields fall to 3.845%.

Conditions in the country are still very bad though, but these are hopefully an early indication that it is turning a corner. The rapid increase that we’ve seen in the unemployment rate since the start of the crisis appears to have come to a halt, for now at least. In the third quarter we saw a larger than expected drop in the figure and in the fourth, we’re expected it to remain at 26%.

Later on the focus will be on the US, where we have jobless claims, manufacturing and housing data being released. Among all of these releases though we also have the January consumer confidence figure for the eurozone, which is expected to improve again to -13, although this is still deep in negative territory highlighting just how pessimistic consumers still are.

Ahead of the open we expect to see the FTSE down 15 point, the CAC down 6 points and the DAX down 22 points.

 

[Pat494]

Are you at Alpari interested in improving MT5 ? Or are you relying on Metaquotes ?

Yes there are things that could be easily improved like the addition of local time etc.

 

[Alpari UK]

US Opening Call from Alpari UK on 23 January 2014

US futures lower ahead of the opening bell on Wall Street

Today’s US opening call provides an update on:

* US futures lower ahead of the opening bell on Wall Street;
* Investor sentiment flat as positive eurozone PMIs offset disappointing Chinese data;
* US earnings and economic data in focus.

US futures are trading slightly lower as we approach the opening bell on Wall Street on Thursday.

A disappointing manufacturing PMI out of China earlier in the day appears to have offset the more encouraging figures from the eurozone this morning, leaving investors feeling a little flat as we approach the end of the week.

This hasn’t been helped by the mixed bag of fourth quarter earnings which have given investors little to cheer about. It’s all well and good announcing earnings growth but when this is continuing to be driven by cost-cutting measures, it’s not the kind of growth that investors want to see. Not those focused on the long term anyway.

It also doesn’t bode well for the economic recovery in 2014 if companies are continuing to focus on improving the bottom line through cost-cutting rather than revenue growth. This is expected to be the theme for the rest of the earnings season and could even continue over the next couple of quarters.

If earnings continue to be the key driver in the markets in the coming weeks as they have been over the last couple, we could see more sideways trading in the equity markets. Until now investors have always had an excuse to buy the dip, whether it be the Fed’s asset purchase program, improving economic data or increased optimism surrounding company earnings. This doesn’t appear to be the case at the moment.

Maybe that can change today, with a lot more pieces of economic data being released and plenty of companies scheduled to report earnings. First up today we have US initial jobless claims, which is expected to be 326,000 for last week.

This will be followed by the preliminary reading of the January manufacturing PMI, which is expected to remain unchanged from December at 55. Finally today we have the existing home sales figure for December, which is expected to show a rise of 0.4%, following the surprising 4.3% drop the month before.

Ahead of the open we expect to see the S&P down 7 points, Dow down 72 points and the NASDAQ down 2 point.

 

[Alpari UK]

Are you at Alpari interested in improving MT5 ? Or are you relying on Metaquotes ?

Yes there are things that could be easily improved like the addition of local time etc.

Hi Pat,

Thanks for your post.

As one of the largest MetaTrader brokers in the world, we work with MetaQuotes to try to provide you with a complete trading package on the platform – the way it should be.

I’ll certainly pass on your request to include local time to their developers and update you as and when I hear anything from them.

If there’s anything else, please feel free to join us on our t2w thread here.


Alex

________
Alexander Chadwick
Alpari (UK) Representative

 

[Alpari UK]

Daily Market Update - 23 January 2014 - Alpari UK

Mixed economic data from China and Europe - 00:18
Corporate earnings driving financial markets - 01:20
US data and earnings in focus this afternoon - 04:56

Equity markets are struggling for upward momentum at the moment, as the Fed seeks to further scale back its asset purchases, companies continue to offer a mixed bag of earnings and economic releases are few and far between. Market Analyst Craig Erlam explains why markets are struggling for direction on Thursday and what could potentially move them as we near the opening bell on Wall Street.

 

[Pat494]

Hi Pat,

Thanks for your post.

As one of the largest MetaTrader brokers in the world, we work with MetaQuotes to try to provide you with a complete trading package on the platform – the way it should be.

I’ll certainly pass on your request to include local time to their developers and update you as and when I hear anything from them.

If there’s anything else, please feel free to join us on our t2w thread here.




Alex

________
Alexander Chadwick
Alpari (UK) Representative

Thanks for a quick response. +1
No harm in asking the customers for their likes and dislikes to make a great product, Right ?

Oh and another thing, the periodicity that the client prefers could be set on the toolbar ?

Hope I am not getting too awkward but just 1 more. The tp and sl could be set by the client rather than laboriously typed in each time.

Here is hoping

 

[Alpari UK]

Thanks for a quick response. +1

Always happy to help Pat

No harm in asking the customers for their likes and dislikes to make a great product, Right ?

Indeed.

Oh and another thing, the periodicity that the client prefers could be set on the toolbar ?

Hope I am not getting too awkward but just 1 more. The tp and sl could be set by the client rather than laboriously typed in each time.

I'll pass these requests on too.


Alex


________
Alexander Chadwick
Alpari (UK) Representative

 

[Alpari UK]

UK Opening Call from Alpari UK on 24 January 2014

Investors down in the dumps as the week draws to a close

Today’s UK opening call provides an update on:

• Investors down in the dumps following yesterday’s Chinese data;
• Quiet day for economic data, focus remains on earnings;
• Carney and Draghi both scheduled to speak at the WEF in Davos.

Investor sentiment is continuing to decline as we approach the end of the week. US and Asian indices both posted losses across the board over night and that negativity is now flowing into Europe, with futures pointing to a lower open this morning.

There’s a number of reasons why investors are feeling a little down in the dumps at the moment. The Fed is no longer willing to support the economy on its own and has already starting to scale back its asset purchases, and another reduction will probably be announce next week.

Corporate earnings season has been mixed from an investor standpoint and disappointing from an economic one. Companies have continued to focus on bottom line growth driven by cost-cutting rather than investment and stronger revenues, which is what we’ll need to see if the recovery is going to gather pace this year.

The economic data has been relatively encouraging so far this year, there’s just been a real lack of it over the last couple of weeks. There was a significant increase in the number of releases yesterday but things got off to a bad start as the Chinese manufacturing PMI fell back into contraction territory. Markets never really recovered from this disappointing start, despite some encouraging data from both the eurozone and the US, and that even appears to be carrying over into today.

The only problem now is that there’s a real lack of economic data being released on Friday which means sentiment is going to be driven predominantly by earnings season, which doesn’t fill me with much hope. Once again there’s very few European companies reporting today, although we will get interim results from Royal Mail which I’m sure many will follow closely following its IPO last year.

The World Economic Forum in Davos will continue today so there’ll probably be a lot of noise coming from that which can sometimes have an impact on the markets. Especially when the noise is coming from central bankers, such as Mark Carney and Mario Draghi, both of whom are scheduled speak.

Ahead of the open we expect to see the FTSE up 6 point, the CAC down 3 points and the DAX up 2 points.

 

[Alpari UK]

Daily Market Update - 24 January 2014 - Alpari UK

Lack of positive catalysts responsible for stocks sell-off - 00:58
Carney and Draghi speak in Davos - 01:59
Earnings continue to be key market driver - 04:35

Market Analyst Craig Erlam talks about why stocks are continuing to sell-off on Friday, what Bank of England Governor Mark Carney's comments in Davos mean for UK interest rates and what's going to be the key drivers in financial markets today and next week.